UH-Manoa campus gets a new chancellor

Sixteen years ago, a different University of Hawai'i administration decided that it was a wasteful duplication to have both a president and a Manoa chancellor working on the same campus. Thus, most recently, Kenneth Mortimer filled both jobs.

The faculty at Manoa, however, has made it clear that they need their own administrator to represent their interests in the push and pull of a 10-campus statewide system. The university's new president, Evan Dobelle, saw it their way.

But more than just standing up for a campus, Dobelle wanted a chancellor who could raise money and foster scientific ventures, and Peter Englert, who will be coming to Manoa from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, is that and more.

Among the other attributes with which Englert impressed his colleagues-to-be in a recent visit was his success in bringing Maori faculty members to the Victoria faculty. An American who according to Dobelle "sees the University of Hawai'i as the hub for intellectual pursuits in the Pacific," he came across as a dynamicand sensitive leader.

We're impressed with what we've heard, and are eager to welcome him to his new post.